Spare 'rod', spoil a child

In response to the letter from American Nadine Block (Give Smack Lead, 19.7.04) I suspect that she, like the majority of our Members of Parliament, has never been in the position of having to be solely responsible for parenting several children.

In response to the letter from American Nadine Block (Give Smack Lead, 19.7.04) I suspect that she, like the majority of our Members of Parliament, has never been in the position of having to be solely responsible for parenting several children.

I brought up four children and two step-children, all now responsible adults with homes and families of their own.

With only one child to bring up, it may be possible that he or she never needs to be chastised in any way but I can assure you that the average child needs to be disciplined. I know from experience that to sit down and try to reason with a child, while trying to keep an eye on another two or three, is not sensible.

I am all in favour of giving lots of praise and encouragement and have only rarely needed to punish but I believe it is a big mistake to let children get away with any wrongdoing.

The open-handed slap, along with a brief summary of the reason for it, is my favoured method. A responsible mother needs to assert her authority otherwise her children will very soon rule her.

Discipline and love go hand-in-hand, but it should be carried out by the child's mother, in my opinion, not by a father, unless the mother is unable to take responsibility. Few men realise their own strength.

The parents who fail to discipline are not concerned with the best interests of their children, they are simply taking the easy route, shrugging off responsibility and allowing the child to rule.

They may think they are doing that out of love but they are being very foolish. That is not good for the child who needs to be given rules and boundaries, and punished when these are overstepped.

The short, sharp shock has always been the best method of discipline because, as long the child recognises the reason for it, it is accepted, and unlikely to be needed more than once in that child's lifetime.

Why do we now have so much trouble from teenagers and younger children within local communities? I suggest it is a combination of lack of parental discipline and the banning of corporal punishment in schools.